Kapintig Philippines 2018 · or aspirations as the Filipino people, I managed to forget about myself. I forgot my problems, I forgot my goals momentarily and I was able to feel through

Franziska Maresch

Lea Bogensperger

Martin Hohl

Sophia Fritzer

2018

Kapintig Philippines 2018

TRAVEL REPORT

Isabella Bruckner

Irene Castillo Abad

Klara Landrichinger

Martina Rosenberger

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1 Kapintig Philippines 2018

Welcome to the Philippines!

CONTENTS

A Journey that Unites .......................................................................... 2

Contrast Tour – Manila ........................................................................ 3

Marinduque Experience ..................................................................... 7

BEC - Marinduque ................................................................................ 9

Urban Experience Manila ................................................................. 11

ECPAT Manila ..................................................................................... 13

Kariton Manila .................................................................................... 15

Indigenous Culture Experience - Cordillera ................................... 17

United Dream ..................................................................................... 20

Profiles ................................................................................................. 21

Great thanks to .................................................................................. 24

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A JOURNEY THAT UNITES By Pina

We, a group of eight Austrians, travelled to the Philippines to get

to know life on the other side of the world. We spent one month

on the Philippine islands and experienced many adventures

together with local Filipinos. We not just had a lot of fun with

them, but also gained knowledge through them. They

welcomed us warmly and we got the chance to become part of

their daily life.

We started our tour in Manila, the capital of the Philippines. Then

we travelled to Marinduque, a little island south of Luzon. And

after some more days in Manila, we visited the Cordilleras, the

mountain region in the north of the Philippines. Each place

offered us the opportunity to meet new people, to try out new

activities and to get a better understanding of life on the

Philippines.

The following report aims to present the experiences of our

journey and therefore gives a brief insight in the projects

supported by the DKA Austria.

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CONTRAST TOUR – MANILA By Liway

Our adventure in the Philippines was about to begin with

spending a week in Manila. We were given some time for rest

and acclimatization followed by the Kapinting Orientation Dinner

where we were officially welcomed to this year‘s Kapintig

programme and finally got some input on Philippine culture and

language. With that, we were more or less prepared for the

contrast tour on August 8.

We were all excited to finally get to see more than our Pastoral

Center Saint Camillus (which was beautiful, by the way) and of

course to get to know Manila. However, we were soon informed

that this was not going to be an ordinary sightseeing tour as we

would perhaps do it when we go to another city. Instead, it was

designed as a challenge to encounter Manila in many more

different ways than the touristic one and to get a different

perspective of it. We were faced with challenges such as taking

as many different means of transportation as possible, trying out

the Philippine street food and surviving the day on the daily

minimum wage.

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To make things more interesting and competitive, we were split

up into 3 groups among the Austrians and we were each

accompanied by one or two locals to show us around and to

help us from getting lost completely. We soon realized anyways,

that it would have been insane to spend a whole day in Manila

with a group of almost 15 people, since it is very crowded in most

places. However, we still met the other groups sometimes, since

the locals each planned more or less the same tour around

Manila.

Our group left very early in the morning and we took the LRT to

the station Rectro, which is close to Manila‘s city prison and an

area where a lot of informal settlers are living. As soon as we

were getting off the LRT we were already confronted with a very

poor and underprivileged part of the city.

We proceeded to visit Quiapo, a district of Manila that is

commonly referred to as the old downtown. The streets were

crowded with traffic while on the side a lot of shops were

located selling cheaply priced items such as cameras, herbal

medicine and fake passports. Visiting the Quiapo Church, we

got to admire quite a few statues of Mother Mary and the black

Nazarene, which is very popular in the Philippines – touching

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statues of saints and praying to them is a very big deal there and

we also got to experience it.

We visited Binondo, a district which is populated mainly by

Chinese immigrants. To get there we took a tricycle, which is a

very common means of transportation in the whole Philippines,

consisting of a motorbike with a sidecar. Other means of

transportation that we got to try out were the bus, a pedicycle,

more different versions of tricycles and at the end of the day a

grab taxi. Our highlight was definitely the trolley, which is a

wooden construct we sat onto that is pushed along train rails at

times where no train is going and we also got to enjoy rides on

the jeepney. The jeepneys were originally U.S. military jeeps that

were modified and rebuilt for traffic purposes. The jeepney is

considered to be the king of the roads in the Philippines.

We got to see a lot more of Manila, another very memorable site

was the wet market, where a huge variety of fruits, vegetables,

meat and fish are sold. The more courageous amongst us also

tried different kinds of street food and enjoyed them quite a lot.

We all met at the end of our tour in the Mall of Asia, which is

apparently the biggest shopping mall in Asia and returned to

Saint Camillus pastoral center by taking a grab taxi. Due to

enormous traffic (which seems to be normal in Manila) it took us

another two hours to get there. Finally we were really tired and

didn‘t even want to go out to have a drink or sing karaoke since

we were just longing to go to bed and get a good night‘s sleep.

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All groups successfully managed to survive the day with the

minimum wage, but this of course was probably due to the

local‘s careful planning of all our activities.

Overall the contrast tour was a very good experience for us

although it was quite challenging as we were faced with

facettes of Manila that we had not expected and that remained

with us for a longer time. We definitely needed and appreciated

the processing with Marc and Rica from IPDI the day after to

clarify and deal with a lot of issues that had come to our mind

and had still concerned us.

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Mangrove

Planting

MARINDUQUE EXPERIENCE By Ireng

After our first days in a pastoral centre located in Quezon City, we

went to Marinduque and there we had the first great immersion.

During nine days we lived on the island and the experience was

divided into two parts. Every part prepared by an organization:

MACEC - an environmental organization, and BEC - an

ecclesiastical community.

During the first days we were surrounded by the young people of

MACEC and we could appreciate how everyone was enormously

involved in the projects of the organization. All of them

accompanied us during the activities and we lived with host

families. Every activity was connected to the DKA, since one of

the objectives was to show us how the money sent from Austria is

used. From all the common activities carried out by the people in

Marinduque, we participated in the "Mangrove planting", "Sand

bagging" and "fish drying". We had the privilege of experiencing

two wonderful and peculiar nights: a big bonfire by the sea, full of

songs and good vibes; and a cultural night, which represented

their traditions and showed me how little effort the Filipinos need,

in order to be happy and satisfied with the small things they have

and to share all this happiness with us. But regarding once more

the DKA contributions, I would like to mention the "house building"

projects. We visited an house that had been built for a family with

two children after a typhoon destroyed their "nipahat" (typical

house made of bamboo). And when I mention this kind of visits,

two very emotional moments come to my mind. In one of the

financed houses, the group performed the common ritual of the

"Sternsingen" and it was a very endearing moment. As well as it

was when, visiting another house, the owner started crying, but

not out of sadness, as one could think her house was not enough

for her and her five children, but out of gratitude and joy because

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What a cheerful evening!

her family felt save now. Both moments made me realize how our

small contribution is a great opportunity in third world countries.

Briefly, MACEC kept my eyes wide open, as well as my mind and

my heart. My eyes could not stop admiring the tropical beauty

that surrounded us and which was so bizarre. My mind? Those

were days in which many conversations arose and all of them

seemed interesting to me. I was able to experience first-hand how

much the activities of the group are helping in protecting the

environment and their homes. Most of our conversations had a

personal connotation. So, I have felt grateful to be part of an

intercultural program that broke down barriers and allowed me to

ask questions and get answers. And finally, my heart. I have to say

that I took back with me more than just beautiful memories,

because even without speaking the same language, without

coming from the same place, and without sharing same concerns

or aspirations as the Filipino people, I managed to forget about

myself. I forgot my problems, I forgot my goals momentarily and I

was able to feel through another skin, to feel empathy and to

understand their problems. Definitely I felt part of their community.

Although briefly, although it might not have happened without

the project ... the ephemeral sense of belonging was real.

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Coconut Tree =

Philippine „Tree of Life“

BEC - MARINDUQUE By Tinang

Our second experience in Marinduque was spent with the BEC

Communities (Basic Ecclesial Communities) of the Diocese of

Boac. These communities were founded and organized to

alleviate poverty in the province. They are characterized by a

strong cohesion and solidarity, which we were allowed to

experience by ourselves.

We had the opportunity to spend time with different host families

in different communities of Marinduque. We were divided into

three groups and travelled to our host families, where all of them

welcomed us very warmly with a big welcoming celebration and

local dances and songs. Not only did we get to know many nice

people, but we were also able to support them in their everyday

activities and to feel the cohesion and the strong bond in these

communities. They taught us how to climb coconut trees, how to

wash our clothes in the river and how to make sweets out of

sticky rice.

We enjoyed the beautiful

nature and the interesting

discussions we had with our

communities. Luckily, we had

a local with us, who helped us

with language difficulties and

cultural differences. Our family

also organized a boat trip to

the beach. Together with our

whole community (it was not

really the whole community

who joined us, but it felt like it)

we visited a beautiful beach

and saw a lot of starfish and

shells. Our evenings were

usually filled with rosary

praying together with the

children of the village or a

nice sitting together in the

garden.

After our time with the

communities we were all very

thankful for the amazing

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hospitality, the open-hearted and

friendly people we met and the

incredible cohesion and solidarity

we experienced. I think we will all

remember the BEC communities

as a peaceful and relaxing place

with an extraordinary

community sense.

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Thanks to all

our great host

families!

URBAN EXPERIENCE MANILA By Isay

The Urban Experience for sure was the part of our program which

was feared the most in advance. How to deal with all the

cockroaches, lizards and rats, which we supposed would be

flocking the houses of our host families in Valenzuela City (one of

the districts of Manila)? Fortunately, we were all surprised by the

coziness of our dwellings, where we spent – alone or in couples –

two nights overall. Even though our hosts mostly owned houses of

limited space and due to low income had to stick to a simple

lifestyle, they did everything to make sure that we had a

pleasant stay. Therefore, we could delve without any major

obstacles into the world of Manila´s poor urban working class. By

getting to know the community of AKKMA – an organization,

striving for the empowerment especially of women and the

youth – we learned a lot about the difficult circumstances, which

people face there in their struggle for a life in dignity. Many of

them work in the nearby factories under harsh conditions,

suffering from several health problems. Even if schooling until

high school is state-run and for free, it is very difficult to find a

better job without a University degree and not all of the families

can afford the expenses for sending their children to college.

Most live as informal residents under the massive power poles

and electric wires or along the rails of trains and tubes, which

means that they do not own the land on which their houses

stand and are constantly threatened by governmental

relocation. AKKMA tries to improve their situation by providing

some basic health care, courses on how to produce peanut

butter, oil and other products for selling, and not least by running

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AKKMA Learning Center

a day care and education center for the little ones. To offer all

this, AKKMA sustains a fruitful cooperation with the local district´s

administration. On our first day, we visited the official facilities

and even had a talk with the local mayor, who told us more

about the community’s challenges and achievements.

Afterwards we had a lot of fun dancing and playing together

with the sweet little children of the education center, who are

dearly looked after by three educationists of the AKKMA

organization. On the second day, we participated in

manufacturing the different products they make for raising the

women’s income. At the end, the community members even

regaled each one of us with a relaxing hand massage.

Despite all our fears in advance and our undeniable relief to

return to our well-known accommodations in the Pastoral Center

(affected by less noise and direct pollution caused by traffic)

after this leg, we were touched by how hospitably our host

families welcomed us in their homes and shared their lives with

us. It was an enriching experience to catch at least a glimpse of

their hopes, dreams and daily struggles as well as to perceive

how strong and loving family solidarity and communal

organization can help to endure even frustrating situations and

not to give up hope for a better future.

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ECPAT MANILA By Klaring

DANCING & LAUGHING TOGETHER

As part of our Urban Experience we got to know the organization

ECPAT Philippines and spent an evening in their office rooms and

their girls shelter in Quezon City, a part of Metro Manila.

WHAT IS ECPAT AND WHAT ARE THEIR AIMS?

#bringbacksmileontheirfaces

ECPAT is a global network of organizations present in more than

90 countries and together they are working against child

prostitution, child pornography and child trafficking. They all

share the aim of eliminating and ending all forms of sexual

exploitation against children:

“ECPAT PHILIPPINES envisions a world where children enjoy a life

of human dignity and a safe environment where they can

exercise their rights to the fullest.” (ECPAT, 2018)

In order to guarantee the fundamental rights of the children and

to support child victims of commercial sexual abuse, ECPAT

Philippines offers a wide range of activities and empowerment

programs: campaigning and lobbying to raise the awareness for

sexual exploitation of the civil society, advocacy work for

children and the youth and different psychosocial activities for

the victims and their families (like the ECPAT Home). The project

areas of ECPAT PHILIPPINES are Quezon City, Angeles City, Bohol

and Boracay.

WHAT WAS OUR EVENING ALL ABOUT?

At first, we got an insight into all the different agendas and

activities by the chairperson and the social worker team of

ECPAT Philippines. We had the chance to ask all the questions

we had in our mind regarding the topic. After this really

interesting conversation, it was time to meet the girls in their

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home. ECPAT Homes are temporary welcome spaces for

survivors where the children live and grow in a warm, secure

surrounding and get support from the social workers.

The girls welcomed us with beautiful dancing and singing. Then it

was our turn: To cheer up the group and to ‘break the ice’ we

played our motivational game: I SAY YEAH!

After some dancing and fun activities with the whole group, we

got to know each other a little bit better. It was wonderful to

hear about the girls’ dreams, wishes and aspirations – thanks for

opening up to us!

We ended the evening with eating spaghetti, pizza and a typical

Austrian dish. The girls were able to taste a real “Kaiserschmarrn”

with icing sugar, strawberry and mango jam. We really enjoyed it

and even the Filipinos liked the taste of it! ;-)

Although ECPAT deals with a very tough topic and we all were a

little nervous beforehand, it was a wonderful evening spending

time together.

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KARITON MANILA By Iska

On the 22nd of August we got up early and went to the Junkshop

of Kariton Empowerment Center (KEC). First, we got a short

introduction on what they do and what KEC stands for. They are

a non-governmental organization named after the wooden cart

that street families push around to gather recyclable garbage,

the Kariton. According to estimates in 2015 4000 to 5000 families

live in covered sidewalks, under bridges and in cemeteries in

Manila. KECs goal is to rehabilitate and empower homeless

families by “helping them to help themselves”. They organize self-

help groups and help them to deal with their situation in a more

creative and responsible way. KEC firmly believes that all people

are created to live a life full of dignity and rights. Globalisation

and the existing global free market system have increased the

gap between rich and poor, depriving people of resources and

wealth. The group is committed to raising awareness, helping

people to rise from poverty, and fighting for an alternative and

just society.

We were then split up into groups, one Austrian with one local

Filipino and one street family. Then one of the most challenging

experiences began. We joined them in collecting garbage and

soon figured that not all garbage is the same. Some things are

worth more than others, f.e metal is a lot more valuable than

plastic bottles. I myself stayed in the Junkshop and sorted bottle

caps by color. White caps are worth the most, blue the least. I

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was able to have a long and interesting talk with one of the

founders of KEC, but also got to know the family that was

currently sleeping in the Junkshop because their kid was only 7

months old.

After collecting garbage, the groups brought it to the junkshop

and then had to f.e. clean (rip of the etiquettes) the plastic

bottles to make them more valuable. Then they weighed their

garbage and earned between 140 and 260 pesos (2,20€ –

4,11€). Considering the families collect garbage 2 or 3 times per

day they only earn around 6-12€ per day, which definitely is not

a lot and not enough to provide for an entire family.

Afterwards we had lunch there, which was from a different

livelihood project of KEC. It was a bit uncomfortable for us

because we were surrounded by garbage, but it still tasted really

good.

All of us learned a lot this day and we are really thankful for this

experience!

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INDIGENOUS CULTURE EXPERIENCE - CORDILLERA By Tinoy

After a few days in Manila the journey took us to a completely

different place of earth. Stunning post card views with rice

terraces wherever you looked, and natural woods were waiting

for us. From Manila the bus ride lasted one night. We were glad

to have a really comfortable bus, where most of us could get a

couple hours of sleep.

Together with “Legend Jimmy” we started our journey to the

small village Liglig somewhere in the nature. To get there, we

had to walk for about two hours. The way to the village was

already the first adventure of this leg. Because of the heavy

rainfalls, the underground of the track was very muddy and

therefor unbelievably slippery. A couple of (painful) falls on our

backs later, we finally arrived at our new home for the next days.

In the evening we all met in the church to get to know each

other. We really liked this evening because all the people were

so interested in our lives in Europe and asked really interesting

questions. It was also a very good opportunity for us to find out

more about their lives and culture. All of us were very excited for

the next day since we were all looking forward to planting rice.

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Religion plays an important role in the Philippines

Planting rice was also challenging for some of us due to the fact

that every step brought about the risk to let us sink deeper into

the mud – not an enjoyable feeling for all of us. I personally really

liked this activity, because spending time in this beautiful nature

let me forget all the environmental troubles of the Philippines for

half a day. After having lunch together, we visited the

elementary school of the village. Seeing such a big building miles

away from a highway was quite impressive. Due to the bad

weather we spent the rest of the day at the places of our host

families.

On the next day we planned to visit the neighbour village. I

guess nobody of us thought that the track to this village could be

even more challenging than the first track. To reach the village

you have to cross the river.

Due to the heavy rainfalls the water-level of the river was getting

higher every minute and after Donna, one of locals, had crossed

the river they had to stop it and we had to go back to our

village, because it became too dangerous. In the afternoon we

and the inhabitants had to prepare for the solidarity night. During

practicing our songs, they slaughtered a pig for the festivity in the

evening.

The solidarity night was a perfect opportunity to see, hear and

feel the culture of this village. I am sure everyone of us will

remember the special kind of dance battle between a woman

and a man for lifetime.

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All along our

journey, we

learnt a lot of

new things

On the next day we went back to

the street where a jeepney picked

us up.

All in all, this leg was my favourite

one. On the one hand there was

this beautiful nature and on the

other hand it was a great

opportunity to get to know the

culture of the indigenous people in

the Philippines.

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UNITED DREAM By Kapintig Participants 2018

As this report aims to show, we have experienced a lot of

different things. We saw, we learned, we laughed, we sang, we

danced, we ate (quite a lot :D), we hiked, we talked, we feared,

we enjoyed, … But the best thing about it: we did it together, we

united. We overcame borders and became a community.

Austrian and Filipinos formed one big group, with a common

goal: to stand up for a fair world, where people help and care

for each other.

This journey let us experience the means of community, solidarity,

hospitality, commitment and love. Through these experiences we

learnt more about, what is really important in life. We became

aware of differences and similarities between the Philippines and

Austria and learnt to appreciate and value what life gives to us.

During our journey we did a lot of reflection and processing,

which gave us the opportunity to get an even better

understanding of the situation on the Philippines. At the same

time, it helped us to cope with our emotions. At our last

processing session, we tried to sum up what we have learnt and

what kind of actions we want to do after our journey. Here is the

brief summary:

LEARNINGS and GOALS

Our intention is to become more grateful and value our own life

and therefore to have the energy to engage and become

active members of our communities.

As we observed the importance of unity and solidarity we also

want to strengthen awareness of the fact that there is only one

planet we are all living on.

CHALLENGES

As our system causes a fast life it might be challenging for us to

even take time to appreciate what we have. Additionally,

individuality is becoming a more and more important aspect of

our western life, therefore it easily happens that we become

ignorant towards community issues.

ACTIONS

We want to share our experiences and knowledge in our

parishes, schools, universities and with friends and families. We

aim to raise awareness for the circumstances in the Philippines.

Moreover, we want to pay more attention to our own

surroundings and the needs and problems of the people. We

strive to see where we can help and maybe initiate new

networks of neighborly solidarity and engage in already existing

projects (like DKA).

We have experienced that little action can make a difference!

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PROFILES

Name: Lea Bogensperger, Liway

Highlight: living with our hostfamily in

the Cordilleras surrounded by

beautiful nature

Challenge: planting mangroves in

the knee-deep mud in Marinduque

Always in my backpack: Anti-

brumm to prevent mosquito bites and

cookies for emergencies

Realization: how extremely prosperous the life we lead here in

Austria is and that I can now be more grateful and appreciative

of it

Tip for future Kapintigs: be prepared for this adventure and don‘t

expect 4 weeks of relaxing holiday! It is an amazing experience

but very challenging and demanding at times.

Name: Martina Rosenberger, Tinang

Highlight: outdoor showering in the

Cordilleras

Challenge: street dogs and street cats

Always in my backpack: mosquito spray

Realization: it really is possible to eat rice for

every meal, you will get used to it ;)

Tip for future Kapintigs: don’t be afraid of

new challenges

Name: Franziska Maresch, Iska

Highlight: Waterfall in the Cordillera and

living with hostfamilies

Challenge: the traffic and air pollution in

Manila

Always in my backpack: Gafa-tape

Realization: time isn’t as important as in

Austria

Tip for future Kapintigs: don’t think too much

about the upcoming challenges – just take things as

they come

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Name: Sophia Fritzer, Pina

Highlight: great conversations

with great people

Challenge: noisy, over-crowded

Manila and the poverty we

experienced there

Always in my backpack: pen and notebook

Realization: I was inspired by all the commitment and hosipality

that I experienced during the jounrey and lernt about the

importance of a community.

Tip for future Kapintigs: be ready for a lot of things you have

never done before and enjoy being with wonderful people.

Name: Martin Hohl, Tinoy

Highlight: The time at cordis

Challenge: Collecting trash with Kariton

Always in my backpack: anti-brumm

Realization: Almost all people of the

Philippines have a lot of hope and a

positive attitude towards their lives even if

it is everything else than easy.

Tip for future Kapintigs: Take enough anti-brumm with you :D

Name: Isabella Bruckner, Isay

Highlight: the many joyful celebrations,

the singing and dancing with those

awesome, hospitable people

Challenge: eating Balut (although it is

indeed very tasty)

Always in my backpack: my scarf (is

apotropaic and protects from anything

harmful)

Realization: The experience with the poor people there made

me realize, what a huge taboo it is to be poor in Austria and how

differently societies can approach this living condition.

Tip for future Kapintigs: “Laß dir alles geschehn: Schönheit und

Schrecken. Man muß nur gehn: Kein Gefühl ist das fernste.”

(Rainer Maria Rilke, aus dem Stundenbuch)

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Name: Irene Castillo Abad, Ireng

Highlight: The people. I would

undoubtedly highlight the fact that

we were able to experience the

community feeling.

Challenge: To see beyond my

mind and eyes

Always in my backpack: My

notebook. I had the purpose of writing a diary

during the experience and I made it.

Realization: Altruism and solidarity bring people together, even if

it is a quite diverse group, constituted of really different

individuals.. Unity is possible because a common objetive is

guiding them. As well as I realized that individualism in Europe

might be one of the reasons, why we do believe that our small

problems are big ones.

Tip for future Kapintigs: Dear future Kapintig, enjoy as much as

you can and more, because everything you'll experience there,

everyone you'll meet there will be there for you just once. You will

never be again in that place, at that time. And even every "big"

challenge you'll have to overcome will seem a small point, a tiny

trace when you're back. For that reason, the only way of make it

bigger, is grasping the sense of it and taking that learning with

you.

Name: Klara Landrichinger, Klaring

Highlight: singing karaoke and

dancing with the people (especially

the children!) of the communities we

stayed with

Challenge: experiencing the harsh

everyday life of the KARTITON families

Always in my backpack: flip flops and

hand disinfection

Realization: We only have one planet – waste reduction and

environmental sustainability is a serious issue for the world as a

whole.

Tip for future Kapintings: Filipinos loooove to eat! Be prepared for

eating five times a day loads of rice and chicken ☺

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Edit by Sophia Fritzer

GREAT THANKS TO:

DKA Austria,

…for giving us the opportunity to participate at this program,

through which we learnt to see things from a different

perspective.

…for organizing the journey so perfectly well and

…for all the great hours you spent with us during the seminars,

prior and after our journey.

…. and of course, for your contribution to make this world a

better place.

IPDI,

…for all the planning and organization of our trip. We always felt

perfectly safe and very well cared for.

… for always listening to us and answering our questions in the

processing lessons.

… for responding to our wants and needs and helping us to

cope with different challenges.

… for all the presents and souvenirs.

… for the emotional support during our journey.

All the great organizations’, that let us be part of their

projects (MACEC, BEC, AKKMA, ECPAT, KARITON, CorDis RDS,…)

All the people involved, who made this journey an

unforgettable experience!

Salamat po. Isay, Iska, Tinoy, Tinang, Pina, Liway, Klaring, Ireng

Documents

Kapintig Philippines 2018 · or aspirations as the Filipino people, I managed to forget about myself. I forgot my problems, I forgot my goals momentarily and I was able to feel through